SSD Archives - Page 3 of 17 - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Should I replace a 4 year old SSD just to be safe?

Posted on January 26, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Kendra: Hi, Rick. I really love your blog, especially the section where you answer questions from your readers.

If you don’t mind I’d like to ask a question of my own.

Back in March of 2020 the tech guy I used at the time installed a Crucial 500GB SSD in my Acer laptop and it really made it run a lot faster.

I recently read on another site that all SSDs wear out over time because they can only be written to a certain number of times.

That has me sort of worried because this drive is now about four years old and I have a lot of personal files on it that I don’t want to lose.

My question is do you think this drive is likely to fail at some time in the near future? [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I add more RAM to my PC or install an SSD?

Posted on January 21, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Thomas: I have a little cash to spend to upgrade my desktop computer and I need your advice on how best to spend it.

Right now it has 16GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive (which is close to being full).

My question is should I use the money to double the RAM on this machine by adding another 16GB or would I be better off replacing the hard drive with a 1TB SSD? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it worth it to install a second SSD just for my data files?

Posted on January 16, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Larry: I remember reading something a while back about using two SSDs instead of one to speed up a computer but I can’t remember the details.

I was in a hurry when I read it so I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have.

I think it had something to do with putting Windows and the installed programs on one SSD and all the data files on the other one.

Can you fill me in on the details? [Read more…]

Two great ways to clone a hard drive or SSD

Posted on January 15, 2024

Many of the questions I receive at RicksDailyTips deal with replacing hard drives and SSDs.

After all, drives go bad and they have to be replaced, and folks are always wanting to upgrade their drives to something larger and faster.

I guess that’s why one of my most frequently asked questions is “How do I clone a hard drive (or SSD)?”

Well, today I’m going to answer that question by briefly describing two drive cloning methods that I’ve written about in the past.

Those two methods range from “inexpensive, and slightly complicated” to “just slightly more expensive, but dead-simple“: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will an SSD go bad just sitting on a shelf?

Posted on December 3, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Glen: A while back I read your post about replacing a computer’s hard drive with an SSD and it sounded like a pretty good idea.

I finally ended up buying a Crucial MX500 1TB SSD to replace the hard drive in my old Acer laptop, but the laptop’s screen went bad before I had a chance to make the switch.

I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money to have the Acer fixed so I just replaced it with a new Dell laptop.

The new Dell has a 1TB hard drive so I don’t really need the SSD at this time. Can I put the SSD on a shelf and keep it for a backup in case the hard drive ever fails, or will it go bad after a while if I don’t use it? [Read more…]